Just bought my dream truck (in reality)...and need advice

You'll know it's 4WD if you have CV axles up front.

If your center console has these buttons that suggest it's 4WD, that doesn't mean it's 4WD. Someone could've easily swapped the center dash for one from another vehicle.

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Get under your truck. if you don't have CV axles at the front suspension area, you're not 4WD. Take pics and share here if you're not sure.

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Does it have a front driveshaft and CV axles?

 

This

 

Yeah just checked...definitely no CVs going to the front wheels; looks like it's 2WD for sure.

To be honest I'm not really bummed at all; 4WD is overrated unless you're going off-road or overlanding, which aren't what I was planning on doing with the truck at all. This thing was bought for hauling trailers and moving stuff from point A to B on my Nevada property I'm developing. So since I'm not planning on doing anything crazy w/ it 2WD just means better fuel economy and less maintenance & repairs

 

As long as you didn’t pay 4WD pricing, it wasn’t advertised as 4WD: and it doesn’t have 4WD buttons in the dash, I don’t see an issue.

 

Exhanging the fluid a quart at a time isn't really the hot ticket. You actually want to have the transmission pump it into a drain pan just until you see bubbles. Then immediately shut off engine. Refill with same amount of fluid and repeat until it's completely exchanged. i.e. Nice cherry red color. I prefer to use Castrol full synthetic fluid myself as it holds up to more severe heat conditions if you plan to tow. There are videos on UTube that show you the basics of fluid exchange. The Yota Stealership I used to work at had powerflush machine until they found it caused more harm than good by stirring up sediment in really dirty transmissions. Oooops........

 

shifty, I always like those sellers who don't know the difference between 4WD and 2WD. Also a good one is more often then not they have it advertised as an 8' bed. I was shopping the last 3 years for a Gen2 Tundra and can't tell you how many times I've seen a crewmax advertised w an 8' bed. Pretty rare since they never made one. HA HA! Another quick clue is the 4WD emblem on the tailgate. Then move on to see if it has 4WD shift buttons. If someone goes thru all the trouble of faking those 2 items you already should have a clue the rest of the truck is probably a lump.

 

I just can't even fathom thinking a truck was 4WD, test driving it, buying it, and then taking it home only to find out it was 2WD. I mean, one of the things I'm going to do on the test drive is TEST THE 4WD. Call me crazy...

 

I'm curious what made you think it was a 4WD. Just an assumption? Or was it advertised in anyway as a 4WD?

 

I've found in my travels that car salesmen aren't car guys. There's a few, but people like us will go in and ask questions and get that deer in the headlights look. My uncle owns a chevy, dodge, and cadillac dealership and couldn't tell me the first thing about any of the cars he sold. He did have an escalade-v which was cool. But yeah, they're just there to make a sell.

 

Hope you didn't pay 4wd price. In my area 4wd certainly does sell for more.

A friend of mine bought a Ford Ranger years ago. Had a 4wd badge on the tailgate. I looked at it afterwards and it didn't have any 4wd controls, transfer case, front diff, or anything...

 

Right, we know there are shady car salesmen who are only in it for the money; but does that excuse not exercising due diligence when purchasing? There's a reason for pre-purchase inspections. They're for people who don't know what they're looking at, and for getting an unbiased set of eyes on the vehicle.

 

Back to the OPs original question... Had this been done: A) It would've been known if the transmission fluid is good. B) Would've known if the truck was 2WD or 4WD. Problems solved.

 

I've been on enough car forums over the decades to know ... For one, some folks just aren't car people; if 4WD isn't important to you, chances are you're not going to test it, or confirm its existence, it's just a "thing.

Additionally, I've noticed the younger crowd and/or people who haven't had many cars, and/or haven't shopped for used cars much tend to be oblivious to stuff like this, and only find out after-the-sale, sometimes happily, other times regretfully.

Then there's that whole variation of the above, that "shit you wish you'da known before you started looking". You know, kinda like what happens with people on here we've seen buy a Tundra only to get it home and find out the frame is Swiss cheese, because they had no idea to look for that, it's a peculiarity of the brand/model.

I don't know here OP fits in that whole equation, but I'm doing my best not to shame him on the point. I do wish he'd go into his user profile, and change his 'Vehicle One-line Description' info from "2000 Toyota Tundra Access Cab" to "2000 Tundra AC V8 2WD" so we can better help him with truck questions in the future.

 

I'm not trying to shame anyone. We all do things and then sometimes scratch our heads later and say "WTF". I'm hoping that this can be a teachable moment to someone that finds themselves in a similar situation. I hope the OP keeps asking questions about his/her new truck. I've learned so much from so many over the years, and would be happy to share some of what I've learned. Even the times I've been an idiot and made dumb decisions, (and God knows I've made A BUNCH!), but those were the best learning experiences.

 

Oh no, due diligence is always necessary. It's like when you look at autotempest or whatever. I select the filter for MANUALS ONLY and half the damn results are auto but in the description they put manual. So fucking annoying.

 

Disagree. You don’t really even need 4wd for most #overlanding.

 

Especially w/ a Gen1 Tundra. Can't tell you how many times on wet roads while towing I popped it into 4WD. It really helps to stabilize the truck and keeps it tracking straighter w/ front wheels pulling also.

 

If my truck had been 2WD, I would've lowered it vs. lifting it, I'm fairly certain.

 

I tried going into that and changing it, but there was no "edit" button anywhere for the description

 

And...wow. I had no idea that me not knowing (or really caring) about whether the truck was 4WD would cause quite an uproar. I JUST need it for towing the odd trailer of lumber. rebar, etc on the freeway (and for a little bit at the end, a level dirt/gravel road) to a rural property without breaking down or causing too much trouble.

I'm happy for the guys with enough disposable income to put all kinds of custom shocks and 4wheeling stuff on their vehicles, but I dunno...I just have different priorities. I just want my truck to be able to run well and last me the rest of my natural born life

And for those worried that I was taken for a ride or paid "4WD prices for a 2WD": I paid $7500 for the truck, it only had 148,000 original miles on the engine so it was driven FAR less than the annual average for most of its life, and the interior is spotless. THAT'S why I bought it...I need something nice and comfortable when I'm towing a trailer behind me two hundred or so miles each way

 

4wd is to make up for what the driver lacks. Change my mind.

 

I’m in the same boat. But my thought process is “if I’m gonna replace it; it’s getting something cooler.” So although I finished all my maintenance with OE Toyota parts my shocks are original and I got nearly 260k on the odo so I’m just gonna replace them with a lift kit.

 

You just click on the text field itself, change the text, then click the "SAVE" button at the bottom of the screen. Easy peasy.

 

You don't pull boats out from high-grade ramps, do you? Or occasionally pull stumps out of the ground, this kind of thing?

I don't care how good of a driver you are, there are definitely times when having AWD/4WD is a gamechanger.

 

Low-mile is sometimes bad news for these trucks. I think you bought at the ideal range though, 125k-175k. You'd be shocked at what some of us low-mile dudes have found under the valve covers.

 

Certainly not changing your mind just as you won’t change mine. A 2wd truck is worthless.

 

+1

I park my utility trailer on the lawn next to my garage. If the grass is wet, I can't get back up on the driveway without being in 4WD -- if there's snow on the ground it's even worse. If I had a 2WD truck, I'd have to park the trailer somewhere else.
OP will be just fine with his 2WD truck. Where 4WD is really handy for towing a trailer isn't so much when you're in transit, it's when you're at your pick-up or destination and you want to get the trailer into a tight spot (especially up or down an incline) to save yourself steps or to ease loading/unloading. Is 4WD necessary for towing? Absolutely not. But it's nice to have sometimes.

 

You’re not getting out of my backyard in the cold and wet season without 4wd. Took all the cardboard to the burn pit this afternoon and now parked up by my patio for the oyster event tomorrow.

 

Oooo. I hope this involves grilling them until they open and then plopping them into a waiting pot of hot lemon/garlic butter! BTW, how do you like the TLX Type S? Looked at one a while back, but haven't been able to drive as of yet.